


touch and hold

by Russy



Series: touching hearts [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Ahsoka Tano (mentioned) - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anakin Skywalker Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Child Luke Skywalker, Childhood Memories, Darth Vader (mentioned) - Freeform, Emperor Anakin Skywalker, Emperor Skywalker, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Flashbacks, Fluff, Force Bond (Star Wars), Gen, Good Parent Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Luke Skywalker, Jedi Training (Star Wars), Memories, Mon Mothma (mentioned) - Freeform, Obi-Wan Kenobi is Darth Vader, Parent Anakin Skywalker, Parent-Child Relationship, Prince Luke Skywalker, Single Parent Anakin Skywalker, Sith Obi-Wan Kenobi, Skywalker Family Feels, Sparring, The Force, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Yoda (mentioned) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:48:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23392741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Russy/pseuds/Russy
Summary: After seeing each other for the first time in 10 years, Luke and his father spend some time together.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker
Series: touching hearts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1682614
Comments: 24
Kudos: 133





	touch and hold

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second installment of the "touching hearts" series, taking place right after the first one-shot. Reviews are much appreciated.

It still feels surreal to Luke Skywalker that, after 10 years, he has finally been reunited with his father, and part of him is privately frightened that this may be a too – happy dream, that he may wake up at any time and find his father gone. He doesn’t say that, of course, and he thinks about the fact that he has barely even talked to his father since his arrival. Last night, after he had just gotten back from a reconnaissance mission and he was barely out of his Starfighter, he’d spotted Ahsoka with his father on the tarmac, and he couldn’t remember a time in his life when he’d felt more relieved, safer, than he had when Anakin wrapped his arms around him and kissed him on the head like he used to do when he was little. Afterwards, he’d pulled Luke away from him slightly and held him by his shoulders at arm’s length, looking him up and down with the same smiling eyes Luke remembered from his childhood. Through their freshly renewed Force bond, Luke could sense his happiness and satisfaction that he appeared to be, mostly, in one piece, although he later realized father probably hadn’t yet seen his prosthetic, because he had still been wearing his flight suit and gloves.

“You’ve grown”, he said, smiling softly.

Luke nodded, his throat tightening as he felt moisture gathering in his eyes. “I… I missed you,” he said quietly.

“Oh Luke,” Anakin said, before bringing him close to his chest again, pressing a hand between his shoulders and holding the back of his head with the other one, “I’ve missed you too, little one. So much.”

Luke pressed the side of his face into his father’s shoulder as tears started running down his face. He felt a hand ranking through his hair, like it had done so many times when he’d been little.

“It’s alright,” father said, pressing a kiss to his temple, “it’s ok. It’s going to be ok.”

He stayed like that for a few minutes, and he was reminded how safe his father had always made him feel when he was a child. Luke pulled away, starting to rub away the moisture from his cheeks with his gloved hands, sheepishly thinking he’d been acting embarrassingly like a child.

“Sorry, I just… I… “ he trailed off, not even sure what he was going to say, and his face reddened slightly.

“It’s alright”, Anakin intoned, understanding, “I know.”

Luke nodded, smiling slightly, before letting out a yawn he just barely managed to suppress into the back of his glove. His cheeks flushed again, and Anakin smiled mildly.

“I think a certain commander should be heading to bed now.” Luke frowned, and his father must have sensed he was about to protest, because he continued, “Come on, it’s late, and you’ve been flying the whole day. You’re exhausted, Luke. We can talk more tomorrow, I promise.”

And so now, after giving his report on the previous day’s mission to Senator Mothma, who’d smiled at him cordially like she always did, telling him he could take the rest day off if he wanted, Luke was strolling along the base’s corridors, trying to decide whether he should find his father or not. It still feels like a dream, that Anakin is finally here, with him, and Luke realizes that he doesn’t quite know what to do, how to act around his father. Cautiously, he sends a soft, questioning poke through their Force bond, and he is met with a warm caress from his father, feeling the tendrils of his Force signature gently wrap around his own. Luke sighs, closing his eyes briefly and stretching his awareness, easily locating his father. He remembers this is one of the first lessons in the Force he had given him when he was 7 years old.

Anakin had taken him outside, into the gardens, where Luke loved to play and run around and watch the ducks from the little lake behind the palace. The prospect of learning how to use the Force was still ever – exciting for the boy, especially considering that his father had only taught him meditation thus far.

“Papa?” Luke asked, looking up at the Emperor and tugging at the hand holding his own, “What are we doing? Are you gonna teach me how to use a lightsaber?”

“Not yet, Luke,” father said, smiling down at him, “there are a couple other things you have to learn before that.” Seeing the boy deflate slightly, he added “Come on, now, I think this might be fun. It’s like a game.” He took out a long piece of dark fabric, holding it up so Luke could see. “I’m going to cover your eyes with this, and I will walk away from you. I want you to count to 10 in your head, and then I want you to reach out into the Force and find me, and come to me, but be careful not to trip. Alright?”

Luke nodded eagerly, and Anakin ruffled his hair before tying the fabric around his eyes and walking away. Luke remembers that the exercise had gone on for some time, and that every time he found papa, he would stroke his hair and praise him before telling him to go again. Afterwards, he remembers heading back inside for dinner and his father holding him close to his chest and reading him a story when he put him to bed that night.

Luke smiles at the memory, focusing on his father’s Force presence and heading off to find him. He wonders whether his father has anything important to attend to today, because when he’d asked Senator Mothma this morning about the meeting that would surely have to take place because of his arrival, she’d said that had already happened yesterday when he’d arrived, while Luke had still been away on his mission.

He finds Anakin on a corridor leading from the tarmac to the living quarters, close to the training room he and Ahsoka typically use to practice. It’s the first time he takes a good look at his father since their reunion, and he remarks that Anakin didn’t appear to have aged much at all in the 10 years they hadn’t seen each other, despite already being 41. His hair was still dark blonde and curly, tapering at the shoulders, but now it had a few barely noticeable wisps of grey steaking through at the temples, and his eyes were still the same bright blue, just like Luke’s, although if he looked really closely, he could notice a few wrinkles forming around them.

“Hello, Luke,” he says, smiling fondly as his son greeted him back. “The Senator told me you would have the day off today. Would you like to spar?”

Luke hadn’t expected the offer, really, but he smiled. “I… yes… yes, I would.”

Anakin nods, and they walk together to the training room.

“May I see?” he asks, looking at the lightsaber hanging on Luke’s belt, and it makes Luke remember father holding him in his lap when he’d been a child, showing him his own lightsaber. “Be careful not to drop it, duckling, and hold it firmly,” he’d said as he showed the boy how to turn it on.

He nods, handing it over and watching his father inspect the hilt and run his thumb over the ridges before activating it, looking approvingly at the green beam that shot out of it and striking it around a few times before turning it off and giving it back.

“Well done,” Anakin says, kindly, and Luke feels his chest swell with satisfaction at his father’s approval.

He reaches out to take the weapon and freezes when he sees the smile on his father’s face drop, his brows furrowed in concern. He looks down and realizes he had reached out with his right hand, and papa had probably noticed it was the only one he always kept gloved. Anakin hands him back the lightsaber and lets him hook it onto his belt before reaching out for his hand and holding it in his own, peeling off the glove and frowning heavily, looking down with grief at the durasteel fingers. He strokes a thumb over the knuckles, clenching his jaw.

“Did he… did _Vader_ do this?” Anakin asks, and Luke instinctively takes a half step back, without even thinking. He doesn’t think he has ever seen his father this get this upset before, certainly not this quickly.

“Yes,” Luke answers quietly, squeezing his father’s own metal hand holding his own, “but it’s… it’s ok now. It’s been a couple of months.”

“I’m so, so sorry, Luke.”

“It’s ok,” he says, squeezing his hand again, “this is hardly your fault."

Anakin looks up into his son’s blue gaze, closing his eyes for a second and letting out a sharp breath before nodding slightly.

“Come on”, he says, letting go of Luke’s hand after putting the glove back on, taking a couple of steps back and igniting his inky – blue lightsaber, “let’s see.”

Luke ignites his own saber, meeting Anakin’s in midair. It doesn’t really come as much of a surprise to him that after about 5 minutes he finds himself flat on his back on the floor, father’s lightsaber inches away from his chest, his own weapon having been casted several meters away.

Anakin deactivates his lightsaber and holds out a hand, helping him stand. “Good,” he says, “let’s go again.”

“Good?” Luke huffs, raising his brow, “I lasted all of 5 minutes.”

“Which is good,” father says, reaching over to ruffle his hair, “you wouldn’t have lasted more than a minute if you weren’t. Come on, again.”

Over the next couple of hours, Luke finds himself repeatedly disarmed by his father, although, he notes with some degree satisfaction, he’s beginning to last against him longer and longer. He likes it, and it reminds him of when he was little, even though back then papa had only begun showing him some katas and a bit more of Form I before they were separated. He finds that his father hasn’t changed since when he was a child, he is still as gentle and patient as always, he guides Luke attentively and corrects his stance and praises him when he does well.

They finish sparing and run through some katas side by side, and as they make their way out of the room, Luke turns towards Anakin. “Papa?” he asks hesitantly, “could we do this again, when you have time?”

“Of course,” he says, reaching over to rub his shoulder, “you’ve done really well.”

“Thank you”, Luke answers, tilting his head to hide his flushing face, although he knows it isn’t fooling his father in the slightest.

They walk side by side, back towards the hangar, and Anakin speaks again. “Ahsoka told me you trained with Yoda.”

“I… yes, I did.”

Father hums thoughtfully at that, and a beat passes. “Did he make you eat his stinking stews?”

Luke looks over at Anakin, surprised more than anything, and he sees him grinning, his blue eyes glinting mischievously. “Oh come on,” Luke replies, laughing, “they’re not _that_ bad. Besides, it’s not as if I had much of a choice, really. We were on Dagobah, and that’s the only thing he did make that I could even eat. He eats live frogs, did you know that?”

His father makes a face at that, scrunching up his nose and shaking his head before reaching to pinch the bridge of his nose, and Luke doubles over in laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys liked it, even though the ending may have been a bit sudden, but I didn't quite know where to take it from there. I'm planning on expanding this universe, so requests and suggestions are more than welcome. My tumblr is rrusi-writes, if you want to send a request or just to chat.


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